For the City Times

Minneapolis blues/funk musicians the Scottie Miller Band will perform in concert at McMillan Library in Wisconsin Rapids on Thursday, May 19, at 7:00 p.m.  This free concert is sponsored by the Mead Witter Foundation, Inc.  No tickets are required, but seating is limited.

Scottie Miller blends Minneapolis-New Orleans funk, soulful ballads, blues, and rhythm and blues.  Scottie Miller’s piano playing rekindles the styles of legendary players such as Professor Longhair, Otis Spann, and Pinetop Perkins.  Scottie’s band includes Kevin Rowe on bass, Joe Cruz on guitar, and Wisconsin Rapids native Mark O’Day on drums.

Scottie Miller was classically trained in music as a boy in Minneapolis.  At age thirteen he began studying jazz piano with Peter Murray at the McPhail School of the Arts.  In 1986 Miller attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston with the help of a partial scholarship from the Chick Corea Jazz Masters Incentive Fund.  He also studied with piano great Craig Najjar.

After returning home to Minneapolis, Scottie Miller began writing songs, recording, and touring with various bands.  Scottie’s trio recorded two CDs between 2003 and 2005 with guitarist Paul Mayasich.  The Other Side and Days of Reckoning were followed by Scottie’s solo CD Livin’ Between the Black ‘n White, a tribute to blues piano greats such as Otis Spann.  The band released Elixir for the Soul in 2007, Live in 2010, and Rise Up in 2012.  Their newsest album is Reciprocation (2015). Scottie has also released Home: A House Concert with Scottie Miller on DVD.

For more information about the May 19th concert, please contact the library at 715-422-5136 or visit Scottie Miller’s web site at www.scottiemiller.com.